


Shopping Trip

by SmallRedRobin13



Series: Wastelands [42]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Ghouls, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, Injury, Inspired by a Movie, Pre-Relationship, Shopping Malls, feral ghouls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-25 08:05:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12031668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmallRedRobin13/pseuds/SmallRedRobin13
Summary: “Danse, I have been here hundreds, no thousands of times. It’s a shopping mall. There’s no fancy technology here, just junk.” Lila whined, loosening the belt of the holster of her pipe pistol.





	Shopping Trip

“Danse, I have been here hundreds, no thousands of times. It’s a _shopping mall._ There’s no fancy technology here, just junk.” Lila whined, loosening the belt of the holster of her pipe pistol.

Danse ignored her, the intel had never been wrong before, it wouldn’t be wrong now. 

“Besides, if there was tech here, you don’t think a scavenger would have found it, taken it and sold it?” She continued, as Danse heard a faint growling in the gloom ahead.

When Lila opened her mouth to complain again, he shushed her as the growling intensified and a horde of ghouls charged into view, clawing at the dusty and decaying air.

“Retreat!” Danse screamed, firing his lazer rifle wildly.

“Oh! So that’s why I stopped scavenging here!” Lila thought aloud as they sprinted towards the exit. 

“Knight, why didn’t you mention this earlier?!” 

“I used to scavenge in a lot of different places! I don’t expect you to remember what every Super Mutant you’ve ever killed looks like!” She retorted as the ghouls swarmed in from the exit, cutting off their escape like a tsunami of flesh, claws and teeth. 

“This way!” Lila yelled, swerving rapidly and nearly falling to the ground in the process. Danse, having swallowed his reply to her earlier comment, followed, turning to shoot at some ghouls who were getting a little too close for comfort.

 

Ahead of him, Lila screamed, causing Danse to face the direction he was running. In her desperation to flee, she’d failed to notice that one of the ghouls had managed to scrambled close enough to tackle her to the ground and sink it’s rotting teeth into her shoulder. Danse charged up and drove his boot into the ghoul, sending it flying. He then picked Lila up, swinging her over his shoulder as he sprinted towards their new destination, one of those stores that had doors on several floors, required a map to fully understand where everything was and used to sell a myriad items. Once they were both inside, he set his power armour to hold the door shut while he ran to the main counter.

“Come on, come on.” He muttered, scanning the buttons of various shapes and sizes until he found the one that locked the doors. He slammed his fist down on it, sighing with relief when he heard the click of the doors locking. During this, Lila had slithered off his armour and slumped against the door. 

“You okay Knight?” He asked, not waiting for her to reply before striding over, pulling a stimpack out of her messenger bag and jabbing it into her shoulder. She winced as he dug out the rest of the sparse medical supplies and treated the wound to the best of his minimal ability. 

“Damn ghouls.” He spat, trying to ignore the inhuman screeches emanating from outside.

“I don’t know, the non-ferals ain’t so bad, like Mayor Hancock.” Lila panted.

“He’s a criminal and a drug addict.” Danse responded, standing up and helping her to her feet.

“Okay, bad example. But you didn’t meet the mayor before him. I swear, I got more scars from his goons than I have anyone else.” Lila countered, stumbling when Danse let go of her.

“Even if what you say is true, that ghoul outside did a number on you. You need rest.”

“Two things Paladin. Firstly: we need to leave before more men are send and/or killed. Secondly: call me Lila. Or Knight Wen, if that’s too personal.” She insisted as Danse helped her to a nearby seat. 

“Not until I’ve seen your face.” Danse replied sourly. 

“I guess I’d better get used to being called ‘knight’ then.” Lila stated, adjusting her green gas mask. Danse scowled, crouching down on the floor. 

“So, now what?” Lila asked, turning to look at him.

“We wait for the ghouls outside to leave, them we attempt to reach the exit.” 

“…You do realise that the ferals won’t just leave, right? We’ll have to lure them away.” Lila argued, folding her arms. 

“And how do you suggest we do that, Knight?” 

“Easy. We set up one of those monkey-cymbal things to make some noise upstairs to lure the ghouls away, _then_ we make a run for it. It’s like your plan, only better in every single way. I’ve done it a million times.” Lila explained, earning herself a glare from glance. 

“Fine. I suppose it’s worth a try.” He grumbled, before going in search of supplies.

 

Danse had just found what had once been the toys section of the store when he heard gunshots from back where he left Lila. Without hesitation, he spun on his heel and sprinted back, dropping the cymbal-monkey in the process. When he reached Lila, he found her sitting calmly where he’d left her, a dead ghoul at her feet. 

“Turns out there are some ferals inside the store. I’d take your gun.” Lila suggested, shrugging before wincing from her wound.

Although this revelation left Danse a little nervous about leaving Lila alone, even if she did have a pistol, he dutifully went to get the supplies, albeit he took his laser rifle and kept a tight grip on it.

 

“All set?” Lila called from her place in a shopping trolley behind the counter.

“Affirmative.” Danse called back, before activating the cymbal-monkey.

As the ghouls swarmed to the top floor like vultures to a dead carcass, Danse ran down the stairs and signalled for Lila to hit the button. As the doors clanked open, Danse grabbed Lila’s shopping trolley and charged through it, with Lila dispatching any ghouls in their way with his laser rifle. One ghoul had the misfortune to get in their path, only to be sent flying when the shopping trolley rammed into it. Lila laughed when it bounced off the wall like a rag-doll and crashed into the floor, skidding a couple of meters. Another ghoul lunged at Danse, only to be knocked aside by one of Danse’s power-armoured punches.

“We’re almost there!” Lila yelled, firing at a ghoul. That was when one of the wheels on the shopping trolley snapped off.

 

Unfazed, Danse picked up Lila, swung her over his shoulder and continued barrelling towards the exit, with Lila still shooting at the ghouls chasing them. They burst through the mall’s front doors, to see a Vertibird circling overhead.

“Over here!” Danse yelled, skidding to a halt and waving his arms wildly.

“Danse, two things. Firstly: THERE’S AN ARMY OF GHOULS CHASING US, WHY ARE YOU STOPPING? Secondly: you’re wearing power armour and your waving is crushing me. For God’s sake stop!” She snapped.

When that was combined with the cacophony of snarls behind them, Danse quickly changed his mind in favour of continuing to run. As they tried to put more and more distance between themselves and the ghouls, the Vertibird swooped in closer, the knight on board preparing their minigun. As soon as they were in range, they opened fire on the ghouls, with Lila picking off any ghouls who somehow survived the barrage long enough to get through. When all of the ghouls lay dead, the Vertibird landed, with Lila holding onto her gas mask so it wouldn’t be blown off. 

“Paladin Danse? Elder Maxon sent us to assist you.” The Knight said, offering Danse their hand. 

“Excellent work Knight. I have wounded with me who need to be evacuated back to the Prdywen immediately. The technology will have to wait.” He ordered, accepting the Knight’s hand, stepping aboard and gently laying Lila on the ground. 

“Yes sir.”

He sighed with relief, returning the weak smile Lila gave him. 

“Looks like we’ll have to postpone our shopping trip.” She joked. 

“Not funny, Knight Wen.”

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the original 'Dawn Of The Dead', if anyone is interested. If you haven't seen it, go watch it! George Romero defined the modern zombie and it has some really interesting allegory.


End file.
